Leipzig – Slavonic origin can be possible. This article is a positive and critical reflection on the opinion of Bernd Koenitz in this volume. The paper is an answer and tries to give acceptable reconstructions also by reason of the historical tradition of the local name Leipzig. The aim is to continue the discussion about the difficulties connected with the interpretation of the historical forms of the local name. Therefore some particularities in the process of reconstruction will be shown. On the one side the experience after a long time of investigations in the field of Slavonic-German contacts allows agreeing with a primary Slavic name formation. But the attempt to reconstruct further derivations of the primary Slavic form of the toponym is refused. Therefore on the other hand more convincing reconstructed Slavic forms are given.

The previous interpretations of the place name Leipzig, 1015 in urbe Libzi, as Old Sorbian *Liṕsk(o) ‘Lindenort’ (place of linden trees) and as the Germanic-Slavic compound name *Libьcь or *Libьsk(o) ‘place in an area of abundant fluvial water’ are found questionable by Bernd Koenitz and rightly so. His new explanation of the name as Old Sorbian *Lib́cě ‘settlement of the weaklings’ from the Proto-Slavic *libъ ‘weak, lean, sickly’ or as ‘settlement of the Lib́c family’ with the personal name Proto-Slavic *Libьcь is well founded. This interpretation is further supported by the Russian surnames Liba, Libov and others, additionally by the Czech place names Studce, Trubce, Chylec among others, which are more supportive of *Lib́cě ‘settlement of the weaklings’, as a nickname, rather than ‘settlement of the Lib́c´ family’.

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In the first part of this article definitions of the terms nomeme, allonome, and type of realization are given. Any analysis of a given set of proper names must part from spoken or written realizations, which, in analogy to the term allophone, shall be called allonomes. It is the analyst's task to find out which of these allonomes were or are functionally identical for the group of speakers in question. Thus Mathias and Matheus are two different names for the speakers of modern German, but were functionally identical for the inhabitants of medieval Regensburg. Therefore we may say, for them Mathias and Matheus were allonomes of a mental unit which we call the nomeme /MATHEIS/. However, as the realization of the different nomemes is not quite arbitrary, but works according to specific patterns or types, the existence of a third, intermediate level must be assumed, on which the speaker decides, which type he will apply in order to realize a certain nomeme. This level shall be called the level of the types of realization. - The second part of this article applies the nomematic point of view to toponymy. Also in toponymy the nomeme serves as a means to individualize and to identify a real object. As such the nomeme is stored up in the brain, awaiting to be realized either as phono-allonome in speech or as grapho-allonome in writing. Thus the nomeme /K/ refers to at least ten real objects, being realized in a limited number of grapho-allonomes and a considerably larger number of phono-allonomes, most of which are known to local speakers only. The nomematic point of view is especially useful in historical onomastics insofar as it gives a more precise insight into the processes underlying place name transfer in language contact areas and diachronic change in toponymy in general. Finally differences between the anthroponymic and the toponymic nomeme are pointed out.

Den Spitznamen (SpN) als einer spezifischen Art der Benennung wurde im Allgemeinen große Aufmerksamkeit gewidmet. Mehrere Autoren beschäftigen sich mit Struktur, Motivation und Klassifikation nach den verschiedensten Kriterien. Mit MATEJCIK diskutierten wir in den Seminararbeiten über SpN, jedoch schenkte ich Ihnen kaum Aufmerksamkeit, weil mir dieser Bereich schon genug erforscht schien - doch dann interessierte ich mich für die SpN in den slowakischen Dörfern. Durch den Vergleich verschiedener SpN traten allmählich gewisse gemeinsame und unterschiedliche Eigenschaften hervor, und es kamen viele Fragen auf, die ich zu beantworten versuchte.

Nazi ideology marked a new dimension of the political use of place names in Germany - not only in terms of the huge number of renamed places, but also with regard to the quality of the changes. In the 1930's thousands of place names were changed in the Eastern provinces of the Third Reich. The aim underlying these changes was to cleanse the map by erasing Slavonic (Sorbian, Polish) and Baltic historical elements present in those place names. Most of the changes took place in Eastern, Prussia, Upper Silesia and Eastern Pomerania, which today are Polish and Russian territories. Less known is the fact, that there was a considerable number of changes in those territories, that after the Second World War constituated the Soviet-occupied zone of Germany (1949-1990 the German Democratic Republic), especially in the region of Lusatia inhabited by both Germans and Sorbs. Based mainly on archive material, the article looks at the historical background for the ideological use of place names in two totalitarian systems: Nazi Germany and the Stalinist Soviet-occupied zone of Germany. It tries to give an answer to the following questions: Which parts of the territory in question were most affected by the Nazi renaming action? How did Nazi authorities manage to implement the place name changes? How can we classify the changes from an onomastic point of view? How can we explain that only 55% of the Nazi renamings were cancelled after the end of the Second World War? How can we explain the difference between Saxony on the one hand (where nearly 80% of the historical names were restored after the war) and Brandenburg on the other hand (where most of the Nazi names are still official names today)? The central issue for both the implementation of Nazi name changes in the 1930's and for the question of maintaining or rejecting Nazi place names after 1945 seems to be the minority problem, i.e. the German-Sorbian relations. What is most striking for us today is the contrast between official East German antifascist propaganda and the tacit admission of Nazi language symbols to live on not only on the place name signs of towns and villages, but also in the consciousness of the people.

The street names of Bayreuth from the Middle Ages to present days are examined in the context of cultural history. Medieval street names reflect the mentality of the time, the way people viewed the reality of their town. In contrast to modern times, street names were always related to a distinctive feature that proved to be relevant to the people in everyday communication. Street names were not officially given, they were rather „found out', i.e. they emerged from a collective agreement among the users as to what was important for orientation, traffic or trade (Haupt Gaße 'Main Street', Marktgasse 'Market Street', Praytte gaß 'Broad Street', Ochsengasse, after a house owner). A new paradigm that has remained dominant until nowadays appears in the l8th century. Street names are no langer the result of collective perception. They are given by national or local authorities in order to honour distinguished persons (kings and princes, politicians, generals, poets, artists, composers, benefactors) or to remind people of relevant facts (e.g. military victories). Street names, also supported by their fixation in street signs, acquire a new dimension. They are intended to reinforce cultural memory as well as political propaganda. As a reaction to the strong ideologization during the Nazi regime, the street names given in Bayreuth after World War II show, in general, an unpolitical tendency. Numerous street names referring to Richard Wagner, his family and his works clearly reveal the significance of the famous composer for Bayreuth's cultural identity.

Proper names have their history, but they are also a mirror of history. This is especially clear in relation to brandnames. Therefore, they stand in the focus of observation. For example, this can be gathered from the 'Rügener Badejunge” (bathing boy) who appeared on the Camembert chees of recent German history. Invented in Stolp (today's Poland), produced on the Island of Rügen and later the leading brand in die GDR (German Democratic Republic), suspended after the reunification of Germany, and after a renaissance, a renowned brand. The skin cream 'Nivea' had to be renamed 'Skin Cream Containing Fat' in 1943. Lifestyle products such as Kombucha are typical of the present day. The use of food supplements is however, controversial. Other types of names also stand in the context of the times. This becomes especially clear in giving first names. This was marked for its individualization and internationalization by Karlheinz Hengst. In this way, the son of a married couple who were artists, was given the name Liam (the Irish shortform for 'William') and Taj (Sanskrit for 'The wisdom of God'). In addition, in the style of giving first names, one can observe the principle of 'dosed discrepancy' (Jürgen Gerhards): Phonetically similar sounding names are prefered (Christian, Christopher, Christoph, Chris). Greetings an congratulations are transmitted in special columns of daily newspapers. Pet names used in these are of significance, which, in part, are derived from the animal world (Maus, Bär). Such notices ar especially frequent on St. Valentine's Day (14 February). Names used in jokes on the entertainment pages have changed. The traditional figure of jokes 'Fritz' has become rare. Names of the middle generation are more frequent. This essay is dedicated to Karlheinz Hengst, the first Professor of Onomastics in Germany (Leipzig). He also occupied himself in his works with the tendencies in giving modern first names.

The oldest forms of the place-name Leipzig, i.e. Libzi, Libiz vel sim., are now generally assumed to be Slavic, i.e. Old Sorabian derivatives of an older river-name, probably of Germanic origin. At the basis of this river-name is thought to be an enlarged root PIE *lei̯‑bh‑ ‘to flow, drip’. As the concept of root enlargement is somewhat problematic and should thus better be abandoned, it is claimed here – based on a recently published idea for the etymologization of the name of the river Elbe – that this assumed Germanic river-name is a derivative of an unenlarged root with the suffix PIE *‑bho‑. This suffix was used to form colour adjectives on the one hand and action nouns vel sim. on the other. Theoretical proto-forms of the river-name are PIE *h2lei̯H‑bho‑ or *h2liH‑bho‑ ‘making/being dirty/filthy’, PIE *lei̯H‑bho‑ or *liH‑bho‑ ‘nestling up against, winding itself’, PIE *lei̯H‑bho‑ or *liH‑bho‑ ‘pouring out’ (→ ‘flowing’?), PIE *lei̯h2‑bho‑ or *lih2‑bho‑ ‘dwindling, disappearing’, PIE *(s)lei̯H‑bho‑ or *(s)liH‑bho‑ ‘blue(ish)’, and PIE *(s)lei̯‑bho‑ ‘slippery, slimy’. A further theoretical possibility is the reconstruction as PIE *lei̯p-o‑ ‘sticky’ vel sim. (> ‘muddy’?). And finally, a reconstruction seems possible regarding the whole name not as a derivative, but as a compound with PIE *‑h2p-o‑ (the zero-grade of PIE *h2ep- ‘water’) as the second member. In this case, the same roots which form the bases of the derivatives are used as the first members of these compounds. All proposals show semantics acceptable for the formation of river-names. Thus no final decision between these proposals is possible.